Interesting things to do with potatoes

fjon

Had a search for this, but don't think it has come up before.

Every week we get a veg box delivered, and one thing that we always get is a few potatoes.
I'm getting bored with the usual ways of cooking them, so was wondering if there was something more interesting that people would recommend I try with them?
I'm open to anything really!

GastroBoy

Hasselback Potatoes !

They are really nice and a bit different, and you can pretty much add anything you like.

http://www.thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/02/hasselback-potatoes-w-garlic-lemon.html

fjon

GastroBoy wrote: »

Hasselback Potatoes !

They are really nice and a bit different, and you can pretty much add anything you like.

http://www.thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/02/hasselback-potatoes-w-garlic-lemon.html

They look amazing, and I've never heard of them. I'll definitely be giving them a shot!

Alun

I've tried them before but my knife skills aren't quite up to creating the really thin slices necessary ... I'm sure those clever Swedes have some kind of gadget for making them though

awec

Out of interest, is this veg box delivery something offered by a local company?

fjon

awec wrote: »

Out of interest, is this veg box delivery something offered by a local company?

I use homeorganics.ie and am pretty happy with them. There are one or two others that do the same thing too I believe.

oscarBravo

Alun wrote: »

I've tried them before but my knife skills aren't quite up to creating the really thin slices necessary ... I'm sure those clever Swedes have some kind of gadget for making them though

Put the potato on a spoon and slice until the knife hits the edges of the spoon - that way you can concentrate on your slice thickness and not have to worry so much about slicing right through.

Alun

oscarBravo wrote: »

Put the potato on a spoon and slice until the knife hits the edges of the spoon - that way you can concentrate on your slice thickness and not have to worry so much about slicing right through.

http://www.amazon.com/Scanwood-Beechwood-Swedish-Hasselback-Cutting/dp/B00578TLQO

I knew there'd be a gadget for it

Mrs Fox

Alun wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/Scanwood-Beechwood-Swedish-Hasselback-Cutting/dp/B00578TLQO

I knew there'd be a gadget for it

Or... you can use a soap dish?

I've seen somewhere placing 2 chopsticks on each side of the potato, to stop slicing the potato through.

BailMeOut

Twice baked potatoes are great.

Get some large spuds, clean, dry and rub with oil and salt pepper. Pierce with fork.

Bake for 45 - 60 mins depending on size until cooked.

Let cool a bit and then slice off top 1/3 and scoop insides out into pan taking care not to damage the skins.

Mash with butter, warm cream, grated cheese, rendered bacon bits and chives and salt, pepper to taste.

Spoon mixture back into skins and put back in oven for 15 mins to heat through.

Great thing about these is they can be done well in advance and left in fridge until dinner time.

fjon

Tried the hasselback potatoes last night. It was a bit of a pain to cut them and to baste/ oil them continually while cooking, but the results were nice. Both my partner and 1.5yo daughter absolutely loved them. Not an "everyday" dish though given the complexity and time it takes, but definitely a nice side dish when you have a bit more time to prepare a meal.

Mrs Fox

fjon that looks amazing

gg2

Par boil baby potatoes, leave to cool for a little while, heat some oil in a baking tray in the oven, chop up smokey bacon and onions and "smash" the baby boiled a little (I usually leave them in the saucepan they were par boiled in and get a slightly smaller bowl and press it on top of the spuds), add the bacon, onion and potatoes to the oil and herbs/ spices of your choice! I usually go for onion salt, garlic, chili powder, cayenne and pepper or rosemary, thyme, garlic, chives.... Bake for about 30 - 40 mins

stevenmu

I've been enjoying potatoe bolognese recently. It works really great with baby potatoes, boiled so they are still nice and firm, then chop them up on a plate and top with bolognese and a good handful of grated cheese.

fjon

Clotu wrote: »

Salted shredded raw potatoes can be used as an effective salve for bad heameroids

Eh, thanks for that, but not quite what I was looking for! :P

fjon

gg2 wrote: »

Par boil baby potatoes, leave to cool for a little while, heat some oil in a baking tray in the oven, chop up smokey bacon and onions and "smash" the baby boiled a little (I usually leave them in the saucepan they were par boiled in and get a slightly smaller bowl and press it on top of the spuds), add the bacon, onion and potatoes to the oil and herbs/ spices of your choice! I usually go for onion salt, garlic, chili powder, cayenne and pepper or rosemary, thyme, garlic, chives.... Bake for about 30 - 40 mins

Sounds quite like German Rost Kartoffeln, which I've been meaning to try. Only difference is I think the Germans would put some sort of cream into it. I'll give this one a go some time too and report back!

amber2

I usually go with a Spanish omelet
500g new potatoes
1 onion, preferably white
150ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
6 eggs

Scrape the potatoes or leave the skins on, if you prefer. Cut them into thick slices. Chop the onion.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the potatoes and onion and stew gently, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are softened. Strain the potatoes and onions through a colander into a large bowl (set the strained oil aside).
Beat the eggs separately, then stir into the potatoes with the parsley and plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a little of the strained oil in a smaller pan. Tip everything into the pan and cook on a moderate heat, using a spatula to shape the omelette into a cushion.
When almost set, invert on a plate and slide back into the pan and cook a few more minutes. Invert twice more, cooking the omelette briefly each time and pressing the edges to keep the cushion shape. Slide on to a plate and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Or if I've mash left over make potatoes cakes, kids love them. If you wanna be a bit more adventurous I've a potatoe cook book I can send you some recipes, lots of washing up after though.

gillapino

I love Saag Aloo. Its an indian dish made mostly from spinach and patatoes. With a few spices thrown in.

12-14 baby patatoes halved
250g of spinach
200g tin of chopped tomatoes
one green chilli
one large onion diced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp of garlic paste
2 tsp of ginger paste
3-4 tbsp of cream
1 tsp of sugar

1. Boil potatoes for 20 minutes
2. Boil spinach for 2 minutes, drain and put in food processor until it turns into a paste.
3. Chop your onion and add to a big pan with oil and cook until browned
4. Add your green chili, garlic and ginger pastes to the onions and cook for three minutes
5. Then add your coriander, chili powder, tumeric and cumin, cook for 1 min
6. Add your chopped tomatoes and sugar and stir then cook for 5-6 minutes
7. then stir in your potatoes and spinach cook for 3 to 4 mins
8. then lastly add your cream and serve immediately

elfy4eva

Sauteed potatoes are a easy to do and are a nice break from the norm, nice with a bit of onion mixed in.

Plazaman

I like making boxty with potatoes and so easy to do too.

1lb peeled raw potatoes
6oz Flour
Half pint of milk
1 teaspoon (flat not heaped) of bread soda
1 teapoon salt

Grate the potatoes into a bowl (I'd drain any liquid but would rinse them)
Add flour salt and milk and mix well
Use about a tablespoon of the mix to make the boxty cakes
Fry them in a small amount of margarine about 5 mins each side.

For extra goodness, I leave them on a low heat in the oven for about 10 - 15 mins covered in butter.

fjon

Moving down the list, today I tried twice baked potatoes. I filled them with cream, cheddar, onions, rashers and some butter.
Both my daughter and I thought they were delicious, if not exactly the healthiest. They were nice and easy to make and I made some extra ones to keep in the fridge.

Dun laoire

Talking about the twice baked potatoes i've tried this a few times and it's quite good. The addition of the egg is good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZx2rBQEm9Y

Pang

GastroBoy wrote: »

Hasselback Potatoes !

Fabulous recipe! Just made them today, based on this thread. They were frickin' amazing. So so tasty. Thanks for the recipe, GastroBoy!

Gbear

I do dauphinoise potatoes with smokey bacon and onions.

So delicious.
It helps to have a mandolin - it's also handy for finely slicing fruit, carrots or anything else that might spring to mind.

Layer thinly sliced potatoes, a mix of mozzarella, gruyere and parmesan, caremilesed onions and fried smokey bacon or lardons and add in cream infused with garlic, nutmeg and rosemary at the end, as well as your own weight in pepper and a sprinkling of salt.

Great with steaks or lamb.

Spanish Eyes

amber2 wrote: »

I usually go with a Spanish omelet
500g new potatoes
1 onion, preferably white
150ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
6 eggs

Scrape the potatoes or leave the skins on, if you prefer. Cut them into thick slices. Chop the onion.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the potatoes and onion and stew gently, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are softened. Strain the potatoes and onions through a colander into a large bowl (set the strained oil aside).
Beat the eggs separately, then stir into the potatoes with the parsley and plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a little of the strained oil in a smaller pan. Tip everything into the pan and cook on a moderate heat, using a spatula to shape the omelette into a cushion.
When almost set, invert on a plate and slide back into the pan and cook a few more minutes. Invert twice more, cooking the omelette briefly each time and pressing the edges to keep the cushion shape. Slide on to a plate and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Or if I've mash left over make potatoes cakes, kids love them. If you wanna be a bit more adventurous I've a potatoe cook book I can send you some recipes, lots of washing up after though.

LOVE tortilla, but I do a cheats version without having to fry the spuds. Helps the waistline a little too!

Steam the sliced spuds until just tender. Place a tea towel or paper towel on top to dry them out a bit. Then tip into a bowl and add the sautéed onions ( you get the oil in now!) and make as you do above.

I do make the authentic version now and then, but it seems to take forever.

Spanish Eyes

Tartiflette is to die for on a cold winter night, or any night for that matter. It is SO moreish.

You are supposed to use Reblochon cheese, but me being me, I've often used a combo of strong Vintage Cheddar, Brie, and parmigiana. Yum, yum. Total Philistine me.

But that's how recipes evolve too, I reckon. It's not that easy or economical to get Reblochon, but when you can, it is really great.

http://www.cuisine-french.com/cgi/mdc/l/en/recette/tartiflette.html

VanillaLime

Lots of nice ideas here!

I like this a lot:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2369639/summer-courgette-and-tomato-gratin

Crash

Rosti:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/13/how-to-cook-perfect-rosti

The secret to a good one is to use a smaller pan than you think you need, so its just slightly thicker than you'd go for - it needs to have a bit of depth to it.

Also, a cheat I started doing to speed this up (if you wait for parboiled spuds to fully cool, you need a lot more time) I put the spuds into cold water straight after parboiling, and then keep changing the water when it gets too warm - drops the temperature pretty fast and cuts the time down pretty fast.

duploelabs

Catered for 60 veggies (had to bite my lip) and did a potato massaman curry which they devoured. The recipe is on the BBC site, just leave out the meat

catho_monster

Highly recommend this Smitten Kitchen recipe - THE best potato wedges ever. You'd never guess that that mix of ingredients combines to make such yum, but trust me, they do.

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/mustard-roasted-potatoes/

vicwatson

Missed national potato day but some good recipes here -

www.potato.ie